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15 septembre 2013

OUVRAGE : L. Grenfell, Promoting the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict States

Catherine MAIA

In
most post-conflict states, a strong level of legal pluralism is the
norm, particularly in regions of Africa and Asia where between eighty
and ninety per cent of disputes are resolved through non-state legal
mechanisms. The international community, in particular the United
Nations, persistently drives the re-establishment of the rule of law in
war-torn areas where, traditionally, customary law is prevalent.

Laura
Grenfell traces the international community's evolving understanding of
the rule of law in such regions, and explores the implications of strong
legal pluralism for the rule-of-law enterprise. Using the comparative
examples of two unique case studies, South Africa and Timor-Leste, Promoting the Rule of Law
provides insight into the relationship between the rule of law and
legal pluralism. Alongside these studies, the book offers a
comprehensive introduction to the conceptual framework of the rule of
law in the context of approaches taken by the international community.

Part I:1. Introduction2. The globalised
relationship between the rule of law and legal pluralism3. The conceptual
relationship between the rule of law and legal pluralism in post-conflict
statesPart II:4. 'One law for one nation'
– how the rule of law and legal pluralism figure in South Africa's
constitutional dispensation5. Can the rule of law and
legal pluralism assist 'the most vulnerable groups' in South Africa?Part III:6. Founding a legal system
in post-conflict Timor-Leste7. Timor-Leste's first
decade of independence
8. Conclusion

Laura GRENFELL,Promoting the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict States, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013 (329 pp.)